The mood in the Bangladesh tent became somber the moment manager Khaled Mahmud received the report of the match officials about the suspect action of two key bowlers on Wednesday.
But Bangladesh looked determined not to allow it taking any toll in their performance as they were preparing to face Ireland in another crucial ICC World Twenty20 qualifier in Dharamsala today.
Both the bowlers – Taskin Ahmed and Arafat Sunny – were carefully shielded from the media while manager
Mahmud was also not prepared to say a single word on this issue.
In the formal press conference coach Chandika Hathurusinghe expressed his shock and surprise at the sudden move by the ICC match officials but hoped it will not affect the team’s performance.
Ireland have been the perennial nemesis of the Tigers, especially in the ICC events as they lost to the side in World Cup 2007 in West Indies and in the ICC World Twenty20 2009 in England.
Bangladesh barely managed a win when the two teams met again in Dhaka in World Cup 2011 but improved as a team considerably over the next five years to become clear favourites against the Irish.
Beaten by Oman in their opening game, Ireland are expected to be an easy prey for the Tigers this time but Hathurusinghe refused to take anything for granted in Twenty20 format.
‘I know Ireland are a professional team although they had a bit of hiccup yesterday [Wednesday]. In T-20 cricket you can’t predict. Anything can happen, one over can change game,’ said Hathurusinghe.
‘So, we expect everything to do best to our ability. Perform to our potential. I think if we play to our potential I expect us to win the game. The condition is going to be challenging for both the teams.’
The format of ICC World Twenty20 qualifying match made almost every game a knock out contest, meaning no team can afford any slip in the tournament. Ireland already lost one game, which Hathurusinghe said will give Bangladesh a psychological advantage.
‘We are happy that Oman won because Ireland have to think few things now,’ said Hathurusinghe. ‘It’s always good when you put some doubts in oppositions mind.’
Hathurusinghe hoped Bangladesh will give a better show than their first match against Netherlands as they got some time to adjust with the condition in Dharamsala.
Netherlands had pushed Bangladesh all the way before the Tigers eked out a hard-fought win. The victory was not assured until Taskin Ahmed bowled the final over to concede just eight runs when Netherlands needed 17.
‘I expect our guys to execute our skill better than they did in the last game,’ said the Sri Lankan coach.
‘Then again, you have to understand we played a game two and half days ago in Dhaka, we travelled whole day, came here to 4000m altitude.
‘We needed to get used to that as well. We are not going to play with machine. we are going to play with human beings.
‘Now we have four days into this acclimatise here. We expect the players to perform better because we know the condition, we know what to expect in terms of pitches. So I think we will adapt better than the last game.’
-With New Age input
